In this photo taken on July 26, 2012, Dinh Thi Hong Loan, 30, left, kisses her girlfriend, Nguyen Thi Chi, 20, at their one-room apartment in an alley in Hanoi, Vietnam. The lesbian couple have dated for more than 2 years and planned to get married next month. The Communist government is now considering whether to allow same-sex couples to marry or legally register and receive rights - positioning Vietnam to become the first country in Asia to do so. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

Dinh Thi Hong Loan grasps her girlfriend's hand, and the two gaze into each other's eyes. Smiling, they talk about their upcoming wedding - how they'll exchange rings and toast the beginning of their lives together.

The lesbians' marriage ceremony in the Vietnamese capital won't be officially recognized, but that could soon change. Vietnam's Communist government is now considering whether to allow same-sex couples to marry or legally register and receive rights - positioning the country to be the first in Asia to do so.

"Our love for each other is real, and nothing changes regardless of whether the law is passed or not," said Loan, 31. "But when it is passed, we will definitely go get registered. I can't wait!"

Even longtime gay rights activists are stunned by the Justice Ministry's proposal to include same-sex couples in its overhaul of the country's marriage law. No one knows what form it will take or whether it will survive long enough to be debated before the National Assembly next year, but supporters say the fact that it's even being considered is a victory in a region where simply being gay can result in jail sentences or whippings.

Vietnam seems an unlikely champion of gay rights issues. It is routinely lambasted by the international community over its dismal human rights record. Up until just a few years ago, homosexuality was labeled a "social evil" alongside drug addiction and prostitution.

But the Justice Ministry now says a legal framework is necessary because the courts do not know how to handle disputes between same-sex couples living together. The new law could provide rights such as owning property, inheriting and adopting children.

"It's time for us to look at the reality," Justice Minister Ha Hung Cuong said last week in an online chat broadcast on national TV and radio. "The number of homosexuals has mounted to hundreds of thousands. It's not a small figure. ... They may own property. We, of course, have to handle these issues legally."